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Topic: New plate (Read 4500 times)

My new aluminum plate is completed, fresh from the water jet company. I won't be able to pick it up until the weekend but it's 18.625x18.625x0.5, which should pretty much fill the oven from front to back with maybe 1/8" gap, depending on which shelf I place it on. From the plate markings, this appears to be 6061 aluminum. I need to pick up an IR gun and I also need to alter my standard dough recipe to reduce the sugar...I'm targeting 2/4 for the initial bake! Woohoo!

Thanks, Scott! I'm not sure what the lettering is made from but my brother in law offered to clean it up for me at his shop. Since he uses this material often, he's better equipped than I am...I will confirm what he used this weekend to make sure it's nothing toxic.

I will use All Trumps for the dough but am not opposed to trying something else in the future once my supply runs out. My oven is electric and is capable of 550 with convection. Broiler is in the main compartment but I may go broiler-less initially unless you recommend otherwise. What should be my target temp? Based on the topic you linked, should I aim for 525? I typically make 2 pizzas at a time.

scott123

John, as long as he cleans off the ink, I wouldn't worry about what he uses. Just use soap and water to clean it and it will be ready to go.

The one prep caveat I'd add is that if he gives it to you with anything close to a mirror finish, I might rough it up a tiny bit. If it's too smooth, the pizza won't grab during the launch and the seasoning won't have any nooks to grab on to.

It really depends on how hot your oven runs, but I might play it safe and start with 500 first.

7, welcome to the 6061 club. I think you will be quite pleased. Scott is totally right about the smoothness. I have never seen a skin slide like it did on my perfectly smooth plate. Since, it has seasoned up pretty well and does not slide much at all. Please report your results here. Also, how much did that cost you? Thanks -Marc

Per Scott's advice, I'll go with about a 63% hydration with All Trumps bromated, 1% sugar, 3% oil and maybe 2% salt(?). The recipe I've been using (and enjoying!) for the past year is too high in sugar and would likely burn on the plate...I've been using a screen, no stone, convection bake.

Sounds good. One thing you will really want to look out for is stickiness in the dough. If the dough is hard to work with due to enzyme action, you might wind up overflouring your launch peel. On a highly conductive surface, loose flour is going to burn and stink immediately. Commonly accepted way to prevent it is to use a combination of short (24hr tops) fermentation and lower hydration. I've had some luck using higher oil % and minimal mixing, but you are already in uncharted territory with your plate- best to control your variables at this point.

Thanks pizzaneer. Picked up the plate on Sunday and will give it a scrubbing this weekend, possibly with a Scotch bright pad. Also grabbed an IR gun today to check temps. Scott, how does the following look?

All trumps 100%Water 62%Salt 2%Sugar 1%Oil (I usually use olive since there is no shortage in my house) 3%IDY 0.5%

I'll target 500 on the plate. My dough balls are usually 20 ounces but I may scale them back a bit. Monday can't get here soon enough...

If you can, get an IR thermometer that has an adjustable emissivity setting, otherwise you you might not be able to get anything approaching an accurate reading off of aluminium. Many IR thermometers are pre-set and fixed at e=0.95. With such a tool, anything below 0.2 is likely going to be a problem. Unless your Al plate is heavily oxidized, it's probably going to be 0.2. If it has any shine at all, it's probably close to 0.05 or less. That 6061 you have is one of the least emissive Al alloys (though all are very low).

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"We make great pizza, with sourdough when we can, commercial yeast when we must, but always great pizza."Craig's Neapolitan Garage

scott123

This goes against my normal advice not to season steel, but, since Marc has been successful getting some color on his plate, and since the baking temperatures for AL are going to be a bit lower than steel, and thus less likely to bake the coating off, I would suggest seasoning the plate with a very light coating of oil. Keep in mind that the goal isn't a non stick surface or corrosion protection like normal seasoning, but, rather, a little bit of color so that the IR thermometer can take readings.

A scotch bright pad probably won't scuff it up too much. I would probably go with 220 grit sandpaper then season it.

20 oz. for an 18" pie comes out to an .078 thickness factor. That's not bad- if you're stretching it to 18". An 18" stretch is very ambitious. You might want to start with a 16 oz. dough ball and stretch it to 16"- that would be .078 as well, but an easier stretch.

This goes against my normal advice not to season steel, but, since Marc has been successful getting some color on his plate, and since the baking temperatures for AL are going to be a bit lower than steel, and thus less likely to bake the coating off, I would suggest seasoning the plate with a very light coating of oil. Keep in mind that the goal isn't a non stick surface or corrosion protection like normal seasoning, but, rather, a little bit of color so that the IR thermometer can take readings.

What would be the possible problems with seasoning the plate, and if you are going to season a little, why not go all the way and get it black?

These are both the same aluminium pan. I use the one on the right for pizza al taglio.

scott123

What would be the possible problems with seasoning the plate, and if you are going to season a little, why not go all the way and get it black?

Because any dough that has enough dusting to launch, when baked, will never stick. If you don't need it, that extra seasoning, if I'm wrong about the smoke/flash point potential, will smoke up the house a lot more than a very thin layer.

All we're looking for is the tiniest bit of color so the IR doesn't bounce. Any more is unnecessary. It would be like seasoning firebrick.

Thanks, Craig & Scott. Craig, the IR gun is from Harbor Freight so nothing fancy...I'd actually be surprised if it works for more than a month

Scott, do you recommend a particular oil for seasoning? Olive oil has a lower smoking point than vegetable oil so maybe the later makes more sense. I seasoned my pizza screens with some cooking spray and that seemed to work OK, although they didn't darken very much. Regarding dough ball size, I think I'll compromise and go with 18 ounces for a 17 inch skin...not sure what TF that works out to (can't access the dough tools at work) but it should be within the NY "guidelines".

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scott123

John, any filtered vegetable derived oil (no evoo) or any hard animal fat (tallow, lard, bacon grease) would probably be just fine. I don't think you need to go out and buy an oil, but if you have any of these hanging around, it would be nice:

Quick update...put a couple coats of seasoning on the plate, the first was shortening heated and kept at 300 for about 1.5 hours and the second was vegetable oil heated to 500. The plate has taken on a nice golden brown patina, not at all sticky. The plate registered around 520 on the bottom and 515 on top. Dough is made and in the fridge until Monday.

Baked a couple pies on the aluminum plate on Monday. The oven was preheated to 500 degrees on convection, shelf situated just below the convection fan. I pulled the 1st pizza at 4:30...I have pictures but they are too large to post. Unfortunately, and I can't believe I'm admitting this, but I still haven't tasted the pizza...just finished breakfast when I made them and still have a ton of leftovers from Sunday to eat.

Attached are pictures of the seasoned plate, the inaugural pizza and the upskirt shot. Looks like the cheese needed some additional time but I'm not sure the crust would have been happy with 30 more seconds.

Attached are pictures of the seasoned plate, the inaugural pizza and the upskirt shot. Looks like the cheese needed some additional time but I'm not sure the crust would have been happy with 30 more seconds.

I think the cheese looks fine.

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"We make great pizza, with sourdough when we can, commercial yeast when we must, but always great pizza."Craig's Neapolitan Garage

scott123

That is stunning, John. Yes, the heat balance is a bit off (you're going to need to incorporate some broiling during the bake), but, looking past the slightly anemic top and slightly dark undercrust, there's a lot of beauty there. Whatever you did with the dough, keep doing it, because the puff on the crumb is indicative of some real dough making skills. Great stretch as well.

Thanks, Craig. The cheese was bubbling pretty intensely when I pulled the pizza out but I was hoping for that mottled look I like so much. This is Restaurant Depot whole milk mozzarella, pre-shredded that has burned on me in the past with longer bakes.

Widespreadpizza, I do have an electric broiler...should I position the plate more highly in the oven?

Scott, thank you. The dough was slightly below 63% hydration with AT flour, 1% sugar, 2% salt, 3% oil and 0.5% IDY. It looked slightly underkneaded when I balled it but it opened easily after a roughly 40 hour cold ferment. Should I play with the oven temp a bit before resorting to the broiler? My oven goes to 550 on both bake and convection bake. I can't wait to eat this tonight! The cornice felt pillowey soft compared to my regular dough baked on a screen.

Thanks, Craig. The cheese was bubbling pretty intensely when I pulled the pizza out but I was hoping for that mottled look I like so much. This is Restaurant Depot whole milk mozzarella, pre-shredded that has burned on me in the past with longer bakes.